In the Fade
by WellMadeMistake
Summary: Edward is a history teacher at an upscale boarding school. What happens with he connects with one of his students on a whole new level? For Jayeliwood's Sexy Eddie Contest!


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**Sexy Edward Contest:**

**Name of Story: In the Fade**

**Your Name: WellMadeMistake**

**Type of Edward: Teacher**

**Character type: very slightly OOC**

**Story type: All Human**

**POV: Edward**

**If you are interested in becoming a part of this contest, please contact:**

**Jayeliwood (at) yahoo (dot) com**

**If you would like to see all the stories that a part of this contest visit**

**Jayeliwood's profile page and visit her favorite stories.**

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**So... I was toying around with the idea of writing this one shot for a while and figured this would probably be as good a time as any to unleash it on the world. We all know Edward loves his music and there are a lot of songs mentioned. A link to the playlist is on my profile, I highly suggest giving it a listen. Enjoy!**

My first day on the job and I knew this was the worst decision I could have ever made. A boarding school in the middle of nowhere, yuppy-ville Massachusetts? What was I thinking? I was easily at least 20 years younger than 90 percent of the rest of the faculty so forming a social circle was definitely out. But even if I could make friends, it's not like there'd be much to do with my free time; I was miles away from the nearest bar because this was a dry county. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and deal; one year of work at Stonewall Academy and I'd be able to write my own ticket into any teaching program in the country. I really should be feeling lucky that the opportunity to teach here even came up at all. So here I was, 22 years old, fresh out of college, and getting ready to teach world history to a bunch of high school seniors who, by most accounts, would be considered my peers. If that isn't a daunting task, then I didn't know what is.

Before moving out to this back woods town from Chicago, all my friends asked me if my accepting the faculty position at Stonewall was just a grandiose way of satisfying some secret sordid naughty school girl fantasy. Honestly, the idea of what the female population of the student body would be wearing hadn't really crossed my mind but now, here I was walking to my classroom on the first day of school counting all of the pleated, skirts and knee socks and vehemently forcing all gutter-worthy thoughts out of my head. These are my students! I can't think of them like that. I absolutely am not going to allow my still raging hormones to ruin my chances at a successful career. However, the fact that everyone in this place was either a student or close to retirement age was not lost on me, and I begrudgingly resigned myself to a year of self imposed celibacy.

The first day went smoothly enough and by the end of it I had seen so many girls in the same boring uniform that the fantasy had sort of lost its appeal. The students were mostly bratty rich kids whose parents were off jet setting in exotic locales, or wealthy business tycoons who couldn't be bothered with raising their own children; but I didn't mind. Their snobbery just inspired me to work that much harder to make them think that learning could be fun. It was my goal to have these kids eating out of the palm of my hand and begging for more by Christmas.

A few weeks into the term, I started on a lecture about the Spanish Armada.  
"So it's 1588 King Phillip of Spain's wife Mary has just died. Who is Mary the first? Anybody?... Mary I was the former Queen of England and half sister to Queen Elizabeth I. When Mary died, England switched from Catholic to Protestant rule which legitimated Elizabeth's claim on the throne of England. Of course, this pissed off Phillip because he was sure that he'd take over after his wife's death, only to be sent packing back to Spain by his sister-in-law. Phillip decides to attack Elizabeth in an attempt to reclaim the throne and take over all of the English ports in the new world.

"Phillip thinks he's got it in the bag if they attack by sea because Spain has a far superior navy. Elizabeth finds out what's coming and raises the best naval force that she can, even though she knows that it's a severely unequally matched battle. So Phillip's fleet sails north, expecting to sneak up on Elizabeth from a port they'd set up on the Faroe Islands with their allies Denmark.

"Due to the elementary knowledge of meteorology at the time, the Spanish were completely blindsided by a little known weather phenomena called the 'little ice age,' which is a polar storm moving eastward off the coast of Greenland. The storm practically decimated the Spanish fleet so when the English caught wind of the attack, they showed up and made short work of their adversaries." I finally took a breath and looked around the room. I was completely dumbfounded to see two dozen completely uninterested faces. I knew I had to change my tactics.

"Basically it's like this. Imagine that I'm the biggest bully in the school, okay? One day, minding his own business, Mike here bumps into me causing me to spill something on my favorite pair of shoes." I went over and placed my hand on the shoulder of Mike Newton, president of the Young Republicans and overall stuck up douche bag. "I say, 'Mike, meet me in the courtyard after school because I'm gonna kick your ass.'" A murmur of giggles spread across the room. I had also found that incorporating a little PG-13 language into my lectures was a good way to keep them interested.

"Mike is shaking in his boots because, of course, I'm the biggest badass here, and nobody wants to mess with me." The snickers grew as I continued my analogy.

"Word travels fast and before long the entire school is geared up to see me wipe the floor with Mike's face." I good naturedly clapped my hand on Mike's shoulder again as his arrogant face took on an ever deepening reddish tint and the laughter continued.

"So the final bell rings and I go to make my way out to the courtyard, the whole school following behind me. Mike's waiting at the bottom of the hill because it's either a) chicken out because he knows he'll loose the fight and have to face the ridicule of it for the rest of his high school career or b) show up and take a beating but have everybody know that he wasn't a coward. He of course chose option b because we all know that high school can be brutal enough without adding anything more on to it.

"But what happens? I'm not watching where I'm going and trip over my feet and fall head over heels, over and over again down the hill until I come to a stop in a bloody pile at Mike's feet. Everybody shows up to see me laying there, Mike gives me one good kick and declares himself the winner." The classroom broke out in fresh and more boisterous laughter as the bell rang signaling the end of the day.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen was sort of how the Spanish Armada went down. Don't forget to read the chapter on the Protestant reformation in your book this weekend and be prepared to take a quiz on it," I called as all my students shuffled out of the room, still giggling to one another about the image of Mike standing over my bloody heap.

I had to laugh once myself and shook Mike's hand on his way out.

"Thanks for being a good sport, Newton," I beamed.

"No problem, Mr. Cullen," he sneered with a smug grin and I laughed again.

I walked back to my desk and hardly noticed that not everyone had left the room.

"That was a really great lecture today, Mr. Cullen," a soft voice said from behind me. I whirled around to see Isabella Swan, one of my more astute but quiet students pushing her books into an army green messenger bag.

"Thank you, Bella." I said with a genuine smile. "Have a wonderful weekend." She gave me a blushing grin and hoisted her bag up on her shoulder. As she moved to step around the desk, the toe of her Mary Jane heel caught on the leg and she tumbled gracelessly to the ground sending the entire contents of her bag sprawling across the stone floor.

"Damn it," she mumbled under her breath as I moved to help gather her things. I was surprised when I picked up an electric blue CD case with a white stripe around the bottom.

"Queens of the Stone Age, Rated R. I'm impressed, Miss Swan." I said handing the CD case over to her,

"You've heard of them?" she asked with a timid but slightly hopeful expression.

"Of course!" I replied, almost shocked. "They're one of the only bands out there right now saving the good name of Rock and Roll. Ever seen them live?"

"Twice. Once at the Tabernacle in Atlanta and then again at Freebird Live in Jacksonville when I went home for spring break last year. They put on an amazing show." Her smile widened as she talked and the air of shyness seemed to melt away. I noticed for the first time the way her nose wrinkled and her dark chocolate colored eyes sparkled and warmed when she smiled. She had a sweet scent that smelled like strawberries and freesias that seemed to wrap around my senses like a warm embrace. After a moment, I realized that I was staring at her full pouty lips.

She cleared her throat and brought me out of the fog I'd stumbled into, and I realized I was still crouched on the floor beside her.

"Sorry, must have spaced out for a second there," I said, trying to cover my stare lamely. "Twice, huh? That's awesome. I haven't had the pleasure yet myself."

I hopped quickly to my feet and offered her my hand to help her up. She tentatively took it and pulled herself to a standing position. When she was upright, she was standing dangerously close to me, so close that I could feel the heat from her body radiating through her blouse and against my chest. Sordid images flashed across my mind's eye in a fraction of a second; me ripping the buttons of her too tight blouse to reveal her perfectly shaped bust, me running my hands up her cute little skirt to cup her shapely backside, me bending her over my desk…

"Umm… I'll see you Monday, Mr. Cullen," she said as a gorgeous shade of pink colored her smooth cheeks and she hitched her bag on her shoulder. She hurried out of the classroom and the door slammed shut behind her.

I sank into my chair and ran my fingers through my hair. What the hell just happened? Was I attracted to one of my students?_ Did I just have a genuine sexual fantasy about one of my students_? It wasn't really such a far fetched idea; there was hardly 5 years age difference between us. This was exactly what I'd been afraid of. No! She is totally off limits.

I made my way back to my living quarters on the grounds of the school and tried to push Bella Swan out of my head. I put my ipod on the docking station, hit shuffle, and turned the volume up as loud as I could to help aide in the process of banishing all inappropriate thoughts from my brain.

_Cracks in the ceiling, crooked pictures in the hall  
Countin' and breathin, I'm leaving here tomorrow  
They don't know, I never do you any good  
Laughin is easy, I would if I could_

In the Fade, one of my favorite songs off of the Rated R album came through the speakers. How fitting.

_Ain't gonna worry  
Just live till you die, I wanna drown  
With nowhere to fall into the arms of someone  
There's nothing to save and I know  
You live till you die_  
_Loosing feelin, but I couldn't get the way  
Countin and breathin, disappearin in the fade  
Lay down low, I never do you any good  
Stoppin and stayin, I would if I could_

I let out a sigh, there was no way I was going to be able to stop thinking about her tonight. I tried to remember any time she's spoken in class, anything other than our short conversation this afternoon, any other mental image to latch on to. She'd only raised her hand a hand full of times to answer questions in class, but only when no one else seemed to know the answer. She was shy, that much was obvious. But her musical taste led me to believe that there was something else lurking behind that bashful exterior. That night, I let myself fall asleep thinking about Bella Swan, my extremely attractive female student, and vowed that this would be the one and only time I'd let myself do this.

The next day, life returned to normal and continued that way for the rest of the weekend.

Monday morning, classes resumed and everything was as it should be, that is until 7th period. Bella sat at the back of the class as she usually did, but she seemed strangely distracted through out the lecture. When the dismissal bell rang, again, she was still packing up her things as the others filed out.

What was I supposed to do? Go talk to her, make small talk and run the risk of letting my imagination run away with me again? No, I couldn't chance it. But my body ached to be close to her again, to feel her soft hand in mine, the warmth off of her body as she stood close to me. Oh god…

"Mr. Cullen?" she interrupted my thoughts hesitantly.

"Yes, Bella?"

"I have something for you. There's not much to do around here, I thought you might need something to pass the time." She reached in her messenger bag to pull out a burned CD in a clear jewel case and handed it to me. Written across the face of the CD in a small neat script was Queens of the Stone Age, Tabernacle Atlanta, Ga. 4/05/07. She flashed me a breathtaking smile. "You said you hadn't seen them live so, I thought you might want to watch that."

"A video of the concert?" I faltered.

"Yeah, I sort of made friends with one of the roadies. He slipped me a bootleg copy at the end of the night," she stated with another heart melting grin and a slight flush of pink. I couldn't help but notice the minuscule crinkles around the corners of her eyes and the tiny dimple in her chin as she smiled. God, she really is beautiful. How had I not noticed her immediately?

"Wow, Bella. This is awesome. I don't know what to say. Thank you." I was sincerely taken aback.

"No problem. See you tomorrow, Mr. Cullen." And with that, she hurried out of the room with a slam of the door.

That evening I watched the bootleg DVD she had given me. She was right, the show was amazing and I enjoyed every second of it. I was startled and fumbled with the remote to press pause when the camera swept across the crowd. Standing in the front row, clear as day, was Bella. She was wearing jeans and a black spaghetti strapped tank top that clung to her buxom curves like a second skin. She was slightly sweaty and look of elation was spread out across her beautiful face. The image was stunning.

Later that night I found myself sitting at my computer, searching through all my music files for my top ten favorite songs. Why? To make Bella a mixed CD of course. I know it was lame and juvenile but it was the only thing I could think of that was anything close to what she'd given me, and was also suitable for a teacher to give to a student, should I ever be found out.

After much scrutiny and careful consideration I decided on the perfect playlist that I thought she'd appreciate;

Flames Go Higher by Eagles of Death Metal  
Honey Bee by Muddy Waters  
Where'd you get those Pants? by Fishbone  
Heinrich Maneuver by Interpol  
Your Touch by The Black Keys  
Fans by Kings of Leon  
American Girl by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers  
Someone Like You by SafetySuit,  
Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones  
And of course, In the Fade by Queens of the Stone Age.** (A/N: All really good songs by the way, and all describe different aspects of Bella to Edward. Link to the playlist is on my profile, check it out!)**

I burned the CD and scrawled "Edward's top 10 of all time" across the face. It was only as I lay awake that night did I realize that almost all of the songs had either a sexual or romantic connotation to them, but it was late and I was too tired to really care.

Through out the next day, I was nothing but anxious. Why was this getting to me so much? I kept tripping over myself and fumbling through my own lecture notes until finally I just put on a movie and sat sulking in the dark at my desk. Finally, the last period of the day rolled around. My heart was pounding, my palms were sweaty, and my knees were shaking. What in the hell is wrong with me? What was I afraid of? I convinced myself that I was terrified of loosing my job by overstepping my bounds with a student instead of the fact that I was really scared shitless of what this beautiful girl would think of my gift. The status of my job was probably the furthest thing from my mind.

I put on the movie for my 7th period class and vacillated back and forth over whether or not to go through with it. I'd hardly noticed that the hour had passed until the dismissal bell rang and all of my students started shuffling out of the still dark classroom.

"Can someone get the lights, please?" I called as they passed through the door. The room remained dark for a moment longer until the lights suddenly flipped on and I realized I was alone in the room with just my hammering heart, and Bella.

"Th-thank you, Bella," I stuttered uncharacteristically.

"No problem, see you tomorrow," she said with a sweet smile, that oh so kissable dimple on her chin making an appearance.

It was now or never.

"Bella?" I called as she reached for the door.

"Yes, Mr. Cullen?" I winced at her reminder of my role in her life.

"I really enjoyed that DVD. It was really something else. I uhh… I made you a CD of some of my favorites songs, it seems like we might have similar music preferences."

Way to make a complete fool of yourself Cullen, you idiot!

"Really? That's so nice of you, thanks." She smiled warmly for a moment still standing by the door.

"Oh, duh. It might help if I gave it to you." Now_ I_ was blushing. How ridiculous could I be? I rummaged in my bag and found the CD case at the bottom.

When I looked up, she had crossed the room and was standing just a few feet away from me. I could feel my pulse quicken and begin pumping fire into my veins. She took the case from my hand and examined the words scrawled across the front.

" 'Edward's Top 10 of All Time?'" she read. "Does that mean I can call you by your first name now?" she giggled. God, it was such an amazingly wonderful sound, her laugh.

I laughed too and ran my fingers through my already disheveled hair nervously. "Outside of class, sure."

"Okay_ Edward_," she giggled again. "Do you mind if we listen to it?"

"Now?" I hadn't expected her to want to listen to it_ with_ me. What if she too realized that all of the songs could be taken romantically? What if I embarrassed her? What if I made her feel uncomfortable? Damn it, I knew this was a bad idea.

"Sure, why not?" she said, inching closer to the edge of my desk.

"Umm… okay, sure." What the fuck are you doing?

I took the CD back from her and put it in my laptop to play. She hoisted herself up to sit on the corner of my desk; her smooth legs were crossed at the ankles and were dangling dangerously close to brushing against the outside of my thigh. I pushed my chair back to leave a little bit more space between us. Something flashed across her face momentarily. Was that… disappointment? No, I must have imagined it.

"Eagles of Death Metal? This is a great song, but I think 'I Want You so Hard' is probably my favorite" she said with a smirk as the first song began to play.

"You never cease to impress me, Bella," I said and a furious blush colored her cheeks. "With your musical choices, I mean," I corrected. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Her smile relaxed a bit as the song continued.

As the CD played, we continued on making commentary on the various songs and sharing opinions about our likes and dislikes. Before I knew it, an hour had passed, and we were interrupted by the janitor coming in to empty my trash.

"Wow, I didn't realize how late it's gotten. I should probably head back to the dorms," she said. There's that disappointed face again. Maybe I_ hadn't_ imagined it the first time.

"Right, I'm sorry I kept you so long," I said sheepishly as I took the CD out of my computer and returned it to her.

"No, don't be sorry. I… had fun. Really. I don't have many people that I can really talk to, you know? Everybody thinks I'm crazy because I don't listen to Britney Spears and watch MTV every free second of the day. Ugh… people here are such pretentious assholes." She clapped her hand over her mouth and gave me a wide eyed look.

I laughed. "Don't worry, Bella I won't tell anyone. Besides, I think we're on the same page on that front." She slowly dropped her hand and somewhere inside of me I envied that hand for being able to be so close to her lips.

Stop it!

"You can always talk to me about music, or movies, or whatever. Anything." I let the offer come out of my mouth without thinking.

"Does that make us friends then?" she asked with another jaw dropping smile.

"Yeah, I guess it does." I smiled back this time. A friendship with one of my students was perfectly acceptable, right?

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then mister – Edward." She corrected with another slight blush.

"Tomorrow it is, then." Am I flirting?

And so it continued for months. During the day, I was Mr. Cullen, just her history teacher but after the last bell, I was Edward; friend, confidante, and music swapper. We would sit and talk and laugh every afternoon, sometimes for hours—always in my classroom, always a safe distance apart. I was a little nervous about it at first, but she never mentioned our time together during class and said that she always told her roommate she was studying in the library if she ever asked where she'd been. It was our secret; an idea that both excited and scared the shit out of me.

The weather turned colder and I asked her about her plans for the thanksgiving weekend. She said her parents were still vacationing in the south of France, so she decided to spend thanksgiving with some friends in New York. I of course, was heading home to Chicago to spend the holiday with my family.

"Planning on catching any shows while you're there?" I asked as we were wrapping up an unusually short visit together.

"My friend got us tickets to see The Black Crowes at the Hammerstein Ballroom day after tomorrow," she beamed.

"Lucky bastard!" I practically shouted. She just giggled.

"Want to try fitting into my suitcase?" she joked.

"Tempting, but I'll settle for a t-shirt."

"T-shirt, I can do. So, I guess I'll see you in a week," she said, her grin slowly fading.

"I guess so. Have fun, be safe." I couldn't keep the edge of sadness out of my voice. This was going to be the longest I had gone without seeing her since we started hanging out.

"Aww… Edward are you gonna miss me?" she asked with a playful punch to my shoulder. I guess she had noticed the change in my demeanor.

"Maybe a little. You're my only source of entertainment," I said with a smirk as I gently brushed her hand away from my shoulder. My fingers lingered on the back of her hand for just a moment, but the touch of our hands together was electric. She cast an intense look up at my face with her lips slightly parted. The expression was hard to read but it was definitely one I hadn't seen before from her. But just as quickly as it came, it was gone and she turned to walk out of the room.

"Bye Edward, have a good trip," she said hurriedly with a flip of her gorgeous mahogany hair and was gone.

Five days.

Five days without hearing her voice, or seeing her face. It was the worst kind of agony. I didn't have a picture of her to hold me over. Hell, I don't even have her phone number. Why? Because I'm her teacher and that would be_weird_ for her to give it to me. Part of me regretted every second I'd spent at Stonewall, while the other maintained that it was a good career move and that I might never have met Bella otherwise. But what's the good in having met her if I can't act on how I feel about her?

How_ do_ I feel about her?

I liked her_ a lot_, definitely more than I should. That much I was sure of. Maybe it would be best if I stopped seeing her. But I was too selfish for that. I'd grown so accustomed to spending time with her that just the thought of cutting out that part of my daily routine was painful. I imagined the look on her face when I told her I couldn't keep seeing her and it broke my heart. I just couldn't do it. So, right then and there, I made a decision. I'd keep being her friend, as bad of an idea as that was, and just hope that after she graduated I'd cross paths with her again somewhere and maybe, just maybe I'd work up the nerve to pursue something more.

The Monday after the break, there was something different about her; she was glowing.  
I couldn't help but cast curious glances at her through out my lecture on the triangle trading of African slaves in the 18th century; a wistful grin maintained permanent residence on the face I'd come to realize I loved so much.

When class was over, she waited for everyone to leave as usual, before thrusting a small gift wrapped box into my hands.

"What's this?" I asked with a shake of the box close to my ear.

"Open it, and find out," she smirked.

I tore the wrapping and slid open the box to find a black t-shirt folded inside; the Black Crowes logo was on the front, with tour dates listed on the back.

"Bella, you didn't actually have to get me anything," I protested.

"Do you like it or not?"

"Of course I do, but-"

"But nothing. It was the best I could do since I couldn't take you with me."

"Thank you. Really."

"You're welcome." She warmed my heart with that irresistible smile, and I had to remind myself that our relationship couldn't progress from its current status.

"So tell me about your trip. Aside from the concert, what did you do?" I asked as I took a seat in my chair, and she sat demurely on my desk.

"Well… I met someone," she said in a sudden burst of excitement. At that moment I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. It took every ounce of self control I had not to double over in emotional pain.

"Oh really? That's nice."

Liar.

What did I expect? Of course she met someone! She's amazing. Who wouldn't want to be with her? I had no right to be bothered by this.

"His name is Jake; he's my friend's cousin. We made plans to meet back up in New York over Christmas vacation." She sighed and leaned back on my desk a bit, with her hands supporting most of her weight. "I think you'd really like him."

I highly doubt that.

"Sorry, Bella. I can't really stick around today. Uhh… faculty meeting." I lied, and she knew it.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" she asked softly as she cast her heavy lidded eyes to the floor. "Because if you are I –"

"No, I'm not mad at you. Thanks for the shirt. I'll see you tomorrow." I said in a rush, and hurried out the door, leaving her alone in the classroom for the first time.

It was official. I must have done something really bad to piss off the universe. Here I am in the middle of nowhere, and the one person here who gets me, the one person I connect with, is the one person who is completely off limits. And now, I have to sit back and idly watch while the woman of my dreams runs off with someone else. Life isn't fair!

Over the next few weeks, Bella and I continued our secret meetings in my classroom after school, but the atmosphere had changed. We'd start off talking about our usual stuff, her day, my day, but then she'd bring up something she'd talked about with_ Jake_ and I always magically had somewhere else I had to be. But yet she continued to visit with me everyday, despite my increasingly rude behavior.

It continued this way until Christmas vacation; another long separation from Bella. Even though our relationship had become a little strained, I cared about her more than ever and hated the idea of not being able to see her everyday for three whole weeks.

Our goodbye was awkward, and I hated to leave on a bad note but it was for the best. Maybe if she thought I didn't want to be around her, she'd stop wanting to be around me and we'd both be better off. She gave me a half smile before she walked out my door, and I swear I saw tears in her eyes, but I forced myself not to think about how much I must be hurting her feelings.

Her final words rung in my ears like a shotgun blast; "Merry Christmas,_Mr. Cullen_." They cut right to my core and left me bleeding for the three weeks of the break.

Just when I thought I'd finally begun to heal, it was time for classes to resume and the second semester to begin. The first day back, she was different again, this time she was sullen, brooding; she wouldn't look at me. I wanted nothing more than to find out what was wrong the moment I laid eyes on her. But that would be inappropriate for a teacher to do, so I waited for friendship hour. But that day, she didn't stay behind after the others left.

That entire week, she left with my other students at the end of the day and she never once spoke in class. And each day, her condition seemed to worsen; every day sadder than the last.

The bleeding wound in my chest ripped open again and I had to constantly remind myself that I_could not_ take her in my arms and sooth away whatever was bothering her. It hurt so much knowing that there was something terribly wrong that she wouldn't share with me.

But just when it seemed our original teacher/student boundaries had been put back in place, she surprised me by staying after one afternoon.

"Mr.Cullen?" she asked shakily.

"Yeah, Bella? And it's after class; you know you can call me Edward."

"Oh…right. I just thought you wouldn't want me to anymore…" she trailed off.

"I never got a chance to hear about your Christmas. How was your break?" I asked as cheerfully as I could. I didn't want to talk about how we'd left things between us in December.

"Christmas was okay, I guess," she said nonchalantly as she took her usual seat on the edge of my desk.

"Did you wind up meeting back up with Jake?" I asked, swallowing back the bitter taste that flooded my mouth.

Her posture stiffened for a moment, and then her shoulders slumped.

"Mmm hmm" she answered, wringing her hands.

"And?" I pressed.

"And… it didn't work out."

"Oh," I fought the urge to do a ridiculous happy dance. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's no big deal. How was your vacation?" She was obviously trying to change the subject and I was none too happy to let her.

I told her about the time I spent with my family and a few of my old college friends, and in no time she was back to her warm, bubbly self.

As the sun was beginning to sink behind the trees she turned to me and said, "Thank you, Edward."

"For what?"

"For today, this. I haven't really smiled in… a while." Her luscious lips curled into a warm smirk and I felt my pulse quicken.

"You're welcome then," I replied, mussing up my hair to keep my hands busy and not reaching out to cradle her face between them and pull it to my lips.

"You always make me smile," she grinned again, and gave my bicep a friendly squeeze, before grabbing her bag and waving at me as she skipped out the door.

After that day, things between us returned to normal for the most part, but there was still something different, something better. Shy Bella had completely checked out. I couldn't help but notice how she let her charcoal pleated skirt ride up her thighs as she sat on my desk, and didn't adjust it. I couldn't help but notice how she had begun to wear her crisp white blouse with the top few buttons undone, affording me the tiniest glimpse of her ample cleavage. When we'd hang out, she started reaching out to brush her fingers across my forearm when she laughed, or poking me in the chest when I would say something particularly cynical. This was definitely a development that I liked, even though it took every shred of decency and self control I had to keep myself from throwing her on my desk and ravaging her right then and there. I don't know what brought on this change in her demeanor, but I thanked my lucky stars for it.

When she returned from spring break at the end of April, she showed me an album of photos from her trip to Santa Monica with her cousin. I nearly choked on my own tongue when I laid eyes on several pictures of Bella lying on the beach in a tiny, midnight blue bikini. I discretely adjusted the uncomfortable bulge in my slacks so that she wouldn't see the effect she had on my sex deprived body.

Still her teacher, still her teacher, still her teacher!

Thankfully, outside of Bella, most of my time from then on was kept busy with grading papers and preparing for finals, so my mind didn't have much of an opportunity to wander. My dreams, on the other hand, were another story. Every night she and I would be making love, each time in a different place and position; bent over my desk in my classroom, me on top of her on that beach in Santa Monica, against the back wall of a night club in New York. And each morning I'd wake up panting and sweating with no hope for any sort of actually satisfying release.

The day of the final exam, the last day of school finally came; my year of exile was officially complete. But it carried with it a bittersweet feeling. I saw Bella start to pack up her things when she finished the test and my heart sank. Surely she'd leave to go back to her dorm and start packing. She was the first one finished; there was no reason for her to stick around while the others took their time, just to spend time with me. But I was stunned when she winked at me when she handed me her test. 'I'll be back,' her full lips formed the words soundlessly. I then watched in awe as she sashayed out of the classroom, her hips swaying seductively with every step. I saw Mike Newton's eyes leave his paper and follow Bella's entrancing hips across the room and lick his lips in an animalistic fashion. I inwardly growled and suppressed the sudden desire to walk over to his desk and scrawl a large red 'F' right across his final exam.

Slowly the other students finished, and I wished them luck with graduation and their future endeavors, until all that was left was Tyler Crowly chewing nervously on the end of his pencil. I waited as patiently as I could, but couldn't keep my foot from tapping against the finished stone floor. Finally, after what seemed like an entire lifetime, Tyler finished and hurried out the room looking frazzled.

I went to work erasing the board when I heard the door creak open. A few seconds later I felt warm breath on my ear.

"Boo!" she whispered, sending chills down my spine.

I wheeled around and accidentally knocked her off balance. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her to right her before she fell. Her hands were braced against my shoulders and her chest was pressed firmly against mine when she finally regained her balance. I fought to keep my breathing under control with her close proximity.

"You okay?" I asked breathlessly, staring down at the top of her head.

"Uh huh…" she breathed, but remained standing fixedly in my arms. I knew I should pull away, but I couldn't bear to break the connection of our skin.

Slowly, she tilted her head back to look up at me. Those deep, sparkling brown pools caught my attention first; the way they seemed to go on forever and see directly into my soul. Then… her lips, full and perfectly bowed, pushed into the softest of pouts. Her perfectly rounded chest seemed to be rising and falling in the same rhythm as my labored breathing. Could it be possible that she is equally excited about being this close to me, too? Our faces hovered a few inches apart, motionless until, seemingly out of nowhere, she raised herself up onto her toes and placed a soft, lingering, kiss on my lips. Warmth flooded my body and colors burst in front of my closed eyes at the sensation I'd been imagining for so long coming into reality.

No, no, no! I can't do this. I forced myself to push away.

"Bella…" I breathed, "We're friends, but I'm your teacher."

I heard a small whimper escape her mouth as she lowered her self back down so that she was standing flat on her feet.

"I knew it," she whispered under her breath with a choked sob. She pushed away from me, and tried to furtively wipe away the tears that had sprung to her eyes. "Stupid," she mumbled and reached for her bag, but I caught her wrist before she could.

"You knew what?" I asked.

"Of course you wouldn't want me! Why would you? God, I'm so deluded sometimes!" Tears were falling silently down her soft cheeks.

"Are you crazy?" Could she honestly think that_I_ didn't want_her?_ Jesus, I want her more than I've ever wanted anything in my entire life! I didn't care about my job, or my reputation; I had to tell her, I had to make her see what she did to me. "Bella, you're incredible. You have to know that."

"You don't have to say it if you don't mean it," she huffed indignantly. "I can't believe how dumb I am. I actually convinced myself that you found me attractive, that maybe you were the one. Ha! How ridiculous could I possibly be?" She let out a mirthless laugh as the tears continued to fall. "You know why I didn't come see you when I got back from Christmas vacation, Edward?"

"Why?" I stared at my shoes because I couldn't bear to look her in the eye.

"I met up with Jake in New York. He wanted to sleep with me but I said no. Why? Because, even though you were pushing me away, I held out hope that my first time could be with you! Shit, I'm so stupid!"

My brain went into manual overdrive. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around her slender waist, pulled her to my chest and kissed her with every ounce of passion I had in me. After a moment's shock, her stiffened body relaxed and melted into mine and she snaked her arms securely around my neck. She purred into my mouth as I lifted her tiny body into the air and let her feet dangle off the ground.

"Bella," I mumbled against her lips. "I want to, but we can't. You're my student."

"Not anymore," she replied between kisses, and then it dawned of me. She_wasn't_ one of my students anymore; she wasn't even technically a student at Stonewall anymore. With a triumphant smile, I set her down so that she was sitting on my desk and I rushed over to lock the classroom door. When I turned around to make my way back across the room, I was greeted by the most enticing sight I've ever seen in my life; Bella sitting on my desk in her cute little school girl skirt, her legs spread slightly and dangling on either side of the corner of the desk, her skirt hiked up to expose almost all of the smooth creamy flesh of her toned thighs. She was leaning back on her hands; her breasts jutted up into the air, and she was sporting a sexy smirk across her luscious lips.

In a heartbeat I was standing between her legs in front of her, her face cupped in my hands, and my lips pressed firmly but gently against hers. Her tongue darted out and swept across my bottom lip, hesitantly asking for admittance into my mouth. I whole heartedly accepted, and began massaging her tongue with my own.

I felt her tiny hands reach up and begin loosing my tie, and unfastening the buttons on my starched shirt. The cool air of the classroom assaulted the over heated skin of my chest and stomach once she had gotten the shirt completely unbuttoned and untucked from my slacks. She placed her hands on my chest and trailed her nimble fingers over every line and cut in my torso.

"Lookin' good, Mr. Cullen," she giggled, when she got to my abs. "I'm impressed."

"You're not so bad yourself," I said, placing my hands just above her knees. I began kissing my way from her jaw to the hollow below her ear, while my thumbs rubbed soft circles on her inner thighs.

"Edward," she moaned.

"Yes, love?"

"Touch me. Please."

I froze for a second. Did she just say what I think she did?

"Edward, please." She grabbed my hands and slid them further up her thighs and beneath her skirt. I took a deep, steadying breath before I moved upward on my own, to cup her warm sex in my hand.

"Jesus. You're so wet already, Bella," I breathed against the skin of her neck. It was unbelievable.

"Mmm…" was the only sound that she could make, and I took it as a sign of approval. I moved my hands up to her hips under her skirt and slowly peeled back the fabric of her soaked panties. When I moved my hand to caress her center, I was more than a little bit surprised to find it to be completely smooth. I gulped, she had obviously come prepared.

"Bella, are you sure?" My voice came out much shakier than I would have liked.

"Yes. You have no idea how many times I've dreamed about this." Her voice was shaky too.

I let my fingers slide past the outer lips of her slit, and began caressing the liquid silk that lay within. Slowly, I inserted one finger into her which elicited a soft gasp from her already hanging open mouth. After a few slow and deliberate thrusts, I added a second finger as she gasped again, this time I muffled it with my mouth over hers. As I pumped my fingers in and out of her, my hand steadily becoming slicked with her juices, I was vaguely aware of her hands working on the buttons of her blouse.

"Mmm… Edward," she moaned again. I leaned back, to see her shirt hanging open and her heavenly breasts practically spilling out of a tiny lace bra. It was just my luck that that particular bra happened to have a clasp in the front. She unfastened it with one hand, and exposed her already taught peaks to the cool air.

"God Bella, you are so beautiful," I said, completely in awe of the perfection that sat before me.

She flashed me a seductive smile and began working on my belt and zipper. After a few fumbling tries, she finally freed me from my cotton prison and began running her finger tips over my very obvious erection. I hissed when I felt her tug my boxers down and capture my length in her warm hand. As she gently stroked, I kissed every inch of skin I could place my lips on; her lips, her cheeks, her nose, her jaw, her eye lids, her ears, her neck, her collar bones, her breasts, her nipples. Every inch of her was delicious and I simply couldn't get enough.

After a few minutes, I could feel my orgasm building and this was not the way I wanted it to happen.

"Bella—" I started to say, but she cut me off.

"Edward, make love to me. Please. I need you too."

"Are you sure? We don't have to."

"No, I want this. I've wanted it for _so_ long."

"But we don't have protection." As tempting as the thought of simply having my way with her was, I knew that I had to keep a level head, at least in some respects.

"I'm on the pill," she said hurriedly, as she pulled me down into a smoldering kiss.

"But I thought you hadn't –"

"Precautionary measures. Now please, don't make me beg." But it was too late, she was already begging and I was more than happy to give in.

I positioned myself at her entrance as she leaned back to prop herself up on her elbow and wrapped her legs around my waist. With almost painful slowness, I eased my more than average length into her slick core. She winced slightly in discomfort and I halted.

"Its okay, keep going," she assured me, and I pressed further in.

I knew that I was slightly larger than most men, and at first I was afraid that she wouldn't be able to take all of me. But after a few slow and gentle thrusts I found myself completely sheathed inside of her. She was perfect, like every inch of her was tailor made for me.

I placed my hands firmly on her hips and began to move with more deliberation and she countered my every move with a swivel of her hips.

Of all the times I'd dreamed about making love to her, none of them could top the real thing. I felt like I was falling head first into some dark unknown but I wasn't afraid as long as I had Bella by my side. In this moment, she was my everything and I realized as my pleasure intensified that I wanted her to be my everything forever. I nuzzled my face into her silken, strawberry scented hair as the panted and begged me to move faster, each pump bringing both of us closer and closer to the release we so desperately wanted.

She sat up and began digging her fingers into my shoulders and tightened the grip of her legs around my waist.

"Edward, I'm… I'm so close," she whimpered.

"Come, Bella. I want you to come for me."

"I want you to, too,"

"I will, love." I captured her lips in a bone melting kiss, and I felt her start to shake and moan into my mouth.

"Oh God, Edward!" she cried, burying her face in the crook of my neck as her walls clamped down around me. Without warning, I exploded in the most powerful, earth shaking orgasm of my entire life. As we both came down from our high, I slowed our pace until we were motionless, but still connected.

"Do you know how many guy's fantasy I got to act out just now?" I asked with a laugh.

"Just as long as it was one of our fantasies then I don't care," she chuckled back, and kissed me softly.

Reluctantly I withdrew myself from her, and we both seemed to lament the loss of contact. I would have loved to stay and hold her for hours, but we were still in my classroom, and we were extremely lucky not to have gotten caught. Pushing our luck at this point would have been a bad idea, and I knew it was time to get dressed.

"You never told me what you were planning to do for college," I said as I pulled my boxers and slacks back up my legs.

"My parents sent my first tuition check to NYU last week," she replied, refastening her bra.

"I guess I should start looking for a job in the city then."

"Edward! Are you serious?" She asked hopping off of the desk.

"Now that we can be together, I don't ever want to be away from you."

She flung her arms around my neck and I lifted her off of her feet as she covered my face with feather light kisses.

"I love you… so much," she whispered as tears glistened in her eyes.

"I love you, Bella." And I did. I meant it with every fiber of my being. I loved her, and I couldn't wait until we were away from this place with our whole lives stretched out in front of us.

**So, do I get the award for longest oneshot? lol Sorry for the length, I can't seem to stop once I get started.**

**If you liked it, which I hope you did, please review! (they make me oh so happy) and vote for me!**

**If you REALLY liked it, check out my other story A Simple Twist of Fate which is currently in progress. **

**Much love!**


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